[TheSpartacat]

Hi,

Wondering how long compostable bags take to compost down? have any of you used them in your home composting?
I bought some from the supermarket that I was hoping I could use to take peelings up to the lotty for a bean trench, so i could just pile them in.... but now wondering if they take much longer than the compost to break down?

[gypsy]

I got some free ones with my dalek compost bin, they take about as long as the other stuff in the bin to break down. Mine are all used up now so I use newspaper to take peelings etc to allotment

[Yorkie]

Are you talking about the paper compost bin liners, or the hemp-based, starch-lined shopping bags which eventually will biodegrade?

I'd have thought the latter will take quite a while, probably longer than your regular compost, but would get there in the end.

[TheSpartacat]

Are you talking about the paper compost bin liners, or the hemp-based, starch-lined shopping bags which eventually will biodegrade?

I mean the compostable bags for those food-bin caddies... the label says they're made from 100% biodegradable vegetable matter.... (whatever that is? )

[Yorkie]

As gypsy says, the caddy liners shouldn't take any longer - I think they're only paper or food starch anyway.

[toxorebel]

We've just been Given these by the council as part of our new recycling and refuse collection scheme.  I took the first one down to the plot today and put it in the dalek, although I did rip it open as I threw it in cos I thought it might help 

[compostqueen]

They are made from corn starch and will rot down. However, I find that if you leave the whole lot in the bag it just sits there, so now I rip it open and spread it out a bit on top of the bin, and have found it rots down quicker - the bag and its contents